Silhouette decoys are gaining popularity, especially in the waterfowl hunting sports. Thin silhouette decoys are compact, easy to store and transport, lightweight, and work very effectively to attract game. Still, improvements are desirable.
For example, a single decoy is typically used to represent a single animal. Thus a stand set up to represent a flock of, say 18 ducks will require 18 decoys. Each decoy must be individually carried and set up in the stand. Yet it is always desirable to minimize the number of decoys used to reduce the set up time and ease transport efforts to and from the hunt site. Thus it becomes desirable to at least give the impression to live animals of a large flock in a stand of decoys, while minimizing the number of actual decoys. In the past, this goal has been unattainable due to the construction of standard one and three dimensional decoys.
The present decoy, described in greater detail below, provides the appearance of several animals in a single decoy. This is done by adding visually identifiable features of one or more animals to a primary image on a single decoy base. For example a primary shape on a decoy base may be a single duck, with features of the duck body prominently showing. But by adding even one identifiable feature (say the head and neck) of another duck to the decoy base, the appearance is immediately changed from just the primary image (one duck) to a combination of images in which the primary image is visually dominant, but the added identifiable feature gives the visual impression of another duck behind the primary image.
Thus a single duck decoy will provide a single visual image of two ducks. By simply adding an easily recognizable feature, a single decoy can perform the same function as two or more separate decoys. Of course it is not desirable to provide every decoy in a group with such multiple features, but a certain number of decoys in a stand could provide this feature and significantly reduce the actual number of decoy bodies required for the stand. For example, a number of, say 14 decoys may be used to visually imitate a stand of 18 animals. The hunter need only purchase 14 decoys, but is able to set up an 18 decoy stand.
Corrugated plastic board has been used in the past for construction of one dimensional silhouette decoys. The plastic is amenable to printing processes by which an animal image is screened or otherwise secured to the plastic base. The plastic is also light weight and is very weather resistant. However, it is not buoyant, nor will it stand on "edge" to present the silhouette in a normal appearing position in the water. The open corrugations will allow free flow of water into the base and the decoy will sink. As a result, one dimensional silhouette decoys are not used in deep water without additional flotation.
As a recognized solution to the flotation problem, flotation frames have been developed to support one or more silhouette decoys in an apparently floating, upright condition. On which one or more decoys must thus be provided with flotation if they are to be used in deep water. To provide flotation, a separate flotation frame is commonly provided that must be assembled and attached to the decoys. Such frames are bulky and time consuming to assemble. Further, they are fairly visible in the water and detract from the effectiveness of the decoys.
A need therefor exists for a silhouette form of decoy that is buoyant to enable use in deep water.
The present invention fills the above need by providing a buoyant decoy body that will readily float in deep water. The present decoy body will float with its silhouette images effective simulating the desired waterfowl.